


amidst the rise

by xingyvns



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Background Bokuto Koutarou/Konoha Akinori, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Roommates, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26702950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xingyvns/pseuds/xingyvns
Summary: The tale of soulmates has always been twisted and discombobulated beyond belief; The Red String of Fate, hearing their voices in your head, having their name tattooed on your wrist, etc. Akaashi Keiji never bothered to listen to these stories, deciding that rumors would be rumors. But when a little piece of his vision starts to flicker, he starts to have second thoughts.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54
Collections: Haikyuu Rarepair Exchange 2020





	1. i'm sorry that it's this way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [clear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/clear/gifts).



> warnings for this fic:
> 
> cursing, inner homophobia (towards self), homophobia (chapter 2 and 3)
> 
> \- this is for clear! wasn't sure if you wanted your discord nickname here, so i won't say it but, i hope you enjoy this! sorry for taking so long to post, i wanted to make sure it was as good as i could get it (with the impending doom of a chemistry test comfort, i asked a few beta's to tell me what they thought. most importantly, i hope you like it!

Who would’ve thought that the most terrifying thing of Akaashi’s day, would be asking his mother a simple question?

“Mother…” Akaashi bit his tongue hesitantly, questioning whether or not he should really ask about the persisting irritation in his vision. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his mother’s judgement or general advice, it’s just lately… she’s been obsessed with the arising ‘soulmate’ culture.

His generation had been dubbed the ‘set’ generation: the generation with their life pretty much already planned out for them. Before, the phenomenon of soulmates was practically unheard of; the population of, now, adults who had reported to have a soulmate was a mere 1,029 people in the entire country. Now, with the new wave growing by the second, the number of soulmates have skyrocketed to an astonishing 29 million, placing a large amount of pressure on the young boy.

His mother was a patient woman, but she was never subtle with her wishes. It was obvious how deeply she wanted him to have a soulmate, to be able to say that she had a miracle child in the set generation, rather than a boring, standard one of the previous  _ bland _ generation. her sister’s son was blessed with a beautifully simple soulmate connection; they could see each other in their dreams, but only recognize each other by voice. It was a rarer connection, eventually making it to several global news channels and essentially ascending her sister into fame.

She craved for that same sensation.

She wanted to have a son with the same capability, some kind of rare connection that would allow her name to surpass her sisters in history. But she wasn’t a cruel woman. Sure, she constantly pushed this agenda (and it truly was beginning to irritate him, but he didn’t have the gut to say that out loud), but she would never disown him for not being blessed with this. After all, only roughly 22% of the population had such beautiful connections, and those graced with them either kept quiet or had common ones such as their soulmates’ name written on their wrists.

Akaashi was grateful for that.

Turning fifteen and still having no indication of any physical mark, he knew he would be in the clear from cameras and news articles. However, even though he felt this airy delight of being freed from the chains of the internet, the tension in his body never faded. Not since a piece of his vision started to flicker absurdly. It was constant, starting every morning as pitch black, like an accidental erased pixel, before morphing into an array of shades and colors throughout the day. It always stood out, never blending in with the theme of his school or daily commute, constantly calling for his attention. He was lucky he was able to focus easily, but it was becoming far too much; he’d only dealt with it for a month, but that was a month too long.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”   
  
She hummed softly, an indirect notion for him to continue as she washed the dishes with gentle care. She was always quite meticulous with her actions, living by the philosophy  _ ‘if you do it right the first time, you shouldn’t need to waste time doing it again.’ _

“I think I need to visit the optometrist,” he started, his nerves spiking with each word as he fidgeted with his fingers. He’d always found purchase playing with them, just as a physical distraction for his mind, a way for his nerves to slow down, even just a little. 

She paused in her washing.

“Is your vision going?” she questioned gently, resuming without a second to spare, never turning to face him once. All Akaashi saw was her back, and he was silently thankful that he didn’t need to see her eye to eye, or else he may have accidentally twitched from the constant disturbance.

“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “It… is? But it isn’t,” he added, his statement ending more as a question. He didn’t really know himself, and he was taught to always be honest, otherwise, there’d be severe consequences. So he just spoke - choosing his words carefully to not give away too much information. “I’m not quite sure.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” his mother hummed, wiping the last dish down with a dry rag before washing her hands. She finally turned to face him. The wrinkles and bags under her eyes would’ve seemed more prominent if he wasn’t so focused on the constantly flickering aspect of his vision.

“Would it be possible to schedule an appointment before my graduation?”

“Mhm,” she hummed after a moment. She had just been staring at him for a few moments, squinting and scrutinizing him as if he would be lying about something so specific.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

✰

“So, Akaashi-kun, you’re telling me there’s a… flickering, in your vision?” The optometrist, Nakashima-sensei, questioned. His optometrist was a young male, probably barely hitting his mid-twenties. He had dark hair that seemed to gleam a midnight blue under the light, with bangs that resembled another raven-haired setter he knew. 

Akaashi could sense the doubt in his voice, his gleaming glasses didn’t hide it that well either. He nodded. “Yes, sir.”   
  
“That is… quite peculiar,” he admitted. His hand rested on his chin, his head tilting upwards as he looked down on the male. His gaze was hidden by his glasses, but the thoughtful hums he let out reassured him that there  _ had _ to be some kind of reasoning behind this.

“Here,” Nakashima-sensei cleared his throat after a moment, sitting up properly in his squeaky rolling chair. “How about this,” he shuffled in his desk for a minute, “I’ll put these yellow dyed eye drops in your eyes and we’ll look for any abnormalities first, sound good?”

Akaashi mutely nodded. He hoped this would help.

✰

Nakashima-sensei flashed a cobalt-blue light into Akaashi’s eyes, letting out a dissatisfied yet confused hum as he retracted it soon after.

Akaashi blinked blearily, squinting slightly as his eyes still felt sticky after the yellow dye solution worked its magic. He desperately wanted to wipe off the substance that had slipped onto his cheeks, but he refrained from that as he would stain his white sweater.

“I don’t see anything… that is quite odd,” he mumbled out, setting the flashlight down as he turned to face his desk. “Akaashi-kun, sit tight for a moment.”

He didn’t exactly have the ability to  _ go _ anywhere - he couldn’t fucking  _ see _ . His eyesight blurred at different degrees, the flickering seemingly getting more and more intense by the second. If anything, he wanted to say the yellow eyed drops  _ worsened _ his ‘symptoms’. And, to be fair, he was  _ this _ close to taking the gloves off of Nakashima-sensei’s hands and throwing them at him.

“Ok.”

It was silent for nearly ten minutes, and the only reason Akaashi knew this was because he was counting the ticks of the clock. It was the only sound filling the room, that is, besides the consistent clacking of the keyboard and the rhythmic hum of his optometrist. 

Nakashima-sensei abruptly turned around, hands clasped and holding each other as he leaned forward, almost into Akaashi’s personal bubble.

“Akaashi-kun, have you considered the fact it could be your soulmate mark?”


	2. but i don't know what else to say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akaashi decides to investigate the constant annoyance once and for all.

“I don’t think —”

“No no —” Nakashima-sensei cut him off, waving his hands a little as he sat up. “Hear me out on this. You said that the flickering wasn’t like flashing lights or moments of dim vision but…”

“Pieces of a different setting,” Akaashi slowly filled in, gulping nervously. His hands instinctively found each other, his right hand pulling his left fingers as he swallowed thickly. “But there’s no way, there’s no sign of this kind of soulmate mark ever being reported..!”

“Actually,” Akaashi really wanted to smack that smug grin off of his face, “There has been! It was confidential for quite sometime before the partners all came to a consensus to report it.” He turned back around, enlarging the window on the computer screen so that the medical report could be more easily read for Akaashi.

“Look here,” he spoke, highlighting a specific portion of the article. “‘We didn’t know what to think of the strange flickering; it was as though there were moments we were following someone else’s life.’”

He soon turned back to face Akaashi once more, “Would you say that the ‘flickering’ was actually some objects you could recognize, maybe as if you were looking through a phone into a video?”

Akaashi gulped harshly, sweat beading down his face as his nerves began to skyrocket. If this was true, his mother would refuse to let him go off to college. He’d be bound to his house for years, forced to tell stories for the blog his mother ran, or to do involuntary interviews with the local news station.

But… doctors  _ were _ bound to patient secrecy, so if this were to be confirmed, perhaps he could hide it. Buy a pair of glasses (since his vision  _ was _ actually dying) and play it off as though it was a trick of the eye. It was such a simple solution, but there were so many flaws within it as well. For one, Nakashima-sensei could rat him out to his parents, or worse, the internet on a secret blog he might’ve owned. Not only that, if it were to be confirmed, he‘d have to see a soulmate counselor in order to properly register the details and learn what he needed in order to either meet his soulmate, or to live with the permanent mark.

“Well?” Nakashima-sensei asked once more. It had only been a few seconds since he had asked, but he was rather impatient since this was quite the rare discovery. Not only that, he’d never had the chance to see someone with a soulmate mark in person, so it was rather thrilling. He had to be honest, his hands were twitching with excitement of asking all the juicy questions, but he refrained. He had signed a waiver and declared a pledge when taking on this job, and he would do his damndest to honor that to its fullest capability. 

Akaashi cleared his throat, his right hand closed in a fist, covering his mouth as he did so. “I could say that.”

Nakashima-sensei instantly lit up like a devil who had won the most promising gamble. His cheeks lifted as he immediately stood, scampering around the room to grab things Akaashi couldn’t see. He blinked, and suddenly he was back in his chair with a clipboard and rainbow colored pen. He clicked it once.

“Perfect! Please describe what you are seeing currently - and don’t worry Akaashi-kun, the patient confidentiality contract I signed will refrain me from disclosing this information with anyone else!”

✰

Akaashi never imagined that a simple task such as picking glasses would prove to be so complicated. There were so many varieties that ranged from the simple, nerd-esque glasses to the loud, bold, ‘hip’ cotton-candy types. He just wanted a simple pair, but even that seemed to be quite the struggle to find.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, his right hand fiddling with the folded paper that Nakashima-sensei had given him. Written on it was the address and phone number of the soulmate counselor he was meant to visit within the next week - thankfully, it didn’t interfere with his finals nor his graduation. The crinkling of the paper in his pocket seemed echo within the spacious shop - there were only two other people there; the person who would properly adjust his glasses and another customer. 

He slowly slid next to the stranger - unintentionally of course - as he stood in front of the thick rimmed, black, round glasses that he was looking for. The row to the left (which he couldn’t see much of since the male was blocking the majority of it) seemed to hold the more angled glasses he was looking for. But he didn’t want to start up a conversation, especially with his nerves still tingling with anxiety after the revelation. 

So, he took a moment to analyze him instead. 

He was tall, about a head taller than Akaashi himself. His black hair was a mess, sweeping in every direction but practically covering his right eye - though he was lucky to view him from his side profile. His skin was quite tan, tanner than the generic pale skin many mothers adored. His right hand was resting on his hip, slightly flexing his arms and  _ good lord _ were his biceps shown quite clearly. The shirt he wore did him no justice, but Akaashi would never voice that. 

The man shifted, his head tilting to stare dead on at Akaashi.

Akaashi swiftly straightened up, fixing his gait and acting as though he was sifting through the assortment of glasses in front of him. Though, what he really found weird was that the flickering in his vision had stopped and instead looked as if… he was looking at himself.

His eyes widened momentarily as he stiffly turned to face the stranger. He was hoping he would just be greeted with a confused glance or awkward look, but when he saw his eyes widen as well, his hopes shattered.

“Well, nice to meet you soulmate, name’s Kuroo Tetsurou.”

✰

“You walked out on him?”

“I… I did,” Akaashi admitted in embarrassment. Why he walked out on him, he really didn’t know. Perhaps it was because he was undeniably attractive, maybe it was because he was slightly perturbed that his soulmate was a male, or maybe it was because he was afraid. 

“And what happened after that?” His soulmate counselor was quite… curious, but he did see how that benefitted the occupation. 

“The flickering stopped, my vision patched itself together.”

There were no words exchanged after that, just the fierce scribbling of her pen against the layers of paper in her lap. It was a soothing sound, slowly calming his nerves as the tense air in the room seemed to fan out; the fog lifting and the pressure slowly alleviating.

“Alrighty, Akaashi-kun,” She started after a moment. “I’m sure you already know that some soulmates are not destined to be together. The actual compatibility rate is quite low, but it’s never been publicly announced since the mass media enjoys the idea of ‘destined lovers’,” she scoffed out slightly before clearing her throat.

“Sorry, anyways, what I’m getting at is that you shouldn’t feel pressured to seek out Kuroo-kun just because society believes it. If you feel comfortable with a different lover or your sexuality isn’t attracted to masculine traits, then don’t force yourself.” She smiled kindly at that, setting her pen down as she leaned back in her chair.

Akaashi let out a sigh of relief at that, the pressure building up in his chest dissipating in an instant. The news had always made it out that soulmates were these fated, star crossed types of lovers that had a fairy tale like love story. He wasn’t comfortable speaking about his sexuality with her quite yet, but he had appreciated the sentiment. But, he did have a nagging question.

“What is the actual percentage of compatibility between soulmates?”

Her smile slowly turned sad at that, a mute sigh escaping her lips, “1.59%.”

✰

“Akaashi!! Great news!” Bokuto sprinted up to him, nearly tripping with how eagerly he ran. “I found you a roommate! He’s in my gen ed’s and said he needed a roomie too!”

Akaashi gently caught him as he attempted to skid to a stop in front of him, his warmth already bringing a smile to Akaashi’s face. As much as he wanted to room with his friend and captain from high school, he couldn’t since Bokuto would be joining a study abroad program in Switzerland. 

“Do I know them?” There was a chance, after all, since in Tokyo of all places, you were bound to meet the oddest of people at any moment in your life.

He shrugged, “Probably, his school is apparently close to Fukurodani, you’ll meet him soon anyways!! So I don’t wanna ruin the surprise!” He set his hands on Akaashi’s shoulders, a blinding grin making its way onto his face, “None of that now! I want some barbeque!!” 

Bokuto eagerly turned Akaashi around before steering him into the direction of the barbeque. 

“The whole team is waiting for us! We gotta hurry!” 

Akaashi let out a chuckle, “Ok, ok, let’s go.”

✰

“Bright and early kiddo!” 

Akaashi jumped at the sudden voice, nearly dropping his suitcase as he slowly straightened up.

“Pardon the intrusion,” He greeted after clearing his throat, “Akaashi Keiji, first year.”

“Yes yes, let me just —” The rather eldery man stood up slowly, his knees creaking as he stood behind the quaint wooden desk. He rummaged within it for a moment, letting out a small ‘aha!’ once he got a small metal key. He then unlocked the glass case that protected numerous numbered key cards.

“Akaashi Keiji…” he mumbled to himself as he scanned the keys before grabbing one. “Aha! Room 381! Just take the stairs to the third floor and it’ll be on your left! And before you go, take this little welcome bag,” he smiled warmly, holding a decorated plastic bag filled with a mixture of candy and college supplies.

“Thank you,” Akaashi quietly thanked, taking the keys and gift bag before bowing just slightly as he made his exit. The stairs were outdoors and didn’t have an accessible way to get his suitcase up, but he figured he could just carry it. 

He pushed the handlebars back into the holes they protruded from, crouching to carry it as if he was carrying a child. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, the handles pushing into his shoulder slightly before ignoring it and continuing on his path. He cursed how tall his suitcase was as it partially blocked his vision and would occasionally clink against his glasses.

Akaashi thought that setting for Bokuto more than sixty times in an hour would be painful on his body -  _ he has deemed stairs as his mortal enemy and wishes them to burn. _ He never thought he would have this much strain on his legs and arms at the exact same time for a task such as _ carrying a 25kg suitcase. _

By the second flight of stairs, he had luckily gotten used to the feeling. However, he had a new problem now:

_ How in the fuck is he supposed get into his apartment? _

He honestly didn’t want to ponder on that thought, his demise coming closer with each step and his dread growing by the passing second.

_ So, my options are struggling to get the keycard out for two minutes, call for help, knock and hope my roommate is home, or release everything into the abyss. _

  
  


The choice he chose? None of the above. The door was already wide open, boxes scattered about the small living room and kitchen while a pair of shoes were messily kicked to the side. There was a pair of slippers underneath a paper sign, the other pair evidently already taken as Akaashi mimicked his roommate's actions. He set down his suitcase once he made it into the living room, soon tossing his backpack next to it as well as the gift bag on top. He stretched, letting out a sigh as his back cracked with each movement.

The sound of footsteps padding back into the living room momentarily caught his attention as he walked back to close the front door.

“Fancy seeing you here, soulmate.”


	3. i'm just your problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo won't let Akaashi avoid him.

There was a word for this level of unsettledness in the air, and Akaashi wished he knew so he could properly describe the atmosphere to his mother. It was this level of suffocation that gripped his very soul, never increasing or decreasing but ever so present. At the most unexpected moments, it would jab him, his throat closing up as he struggled to maintain composure once more in front of the man known as Kuroo Tetsurou.

It hadn’t even been an  _ hour _ since the move in process had started, Kuroo already well done and resting while Akaashi struggled to work up the courage to get the rest of his boxes. They were sitting outside of his door, just  _ waiting _ for someone to steal the expensive textbooks and designer clothes for his job. But that paranoia was easily overtaken by the mere thought of having to pass his…  _ soulmate _ , on the way out. 

The first time was easy - he waited until Kuroo left to go to the bathroom, quickly yet silently sprinting through the hallway and out the front door, grabbing four boxes that teetered on top of each other before zooming right back into his room - all in one breath. 

His back rested against the white door, slowly sliding down as he slumped on the floor with the boxes resting between his legs. His heart pounded in his ears, but he strained to hear movement of any kind. The toilet flushed in the distance, the sound of water rushing and a loud yawn eased his tremors for a moment.

He escaped this time, but out of all the boxes he grabbed, none of them contained his abundance of school supplies; notebooks, pencils, lead, staplers, etc. Which meant, he had no choice but to go back out once more. The other items he could’ve lived without (I mean, who needed a whole box of wooden chopsticks anyway?), but his box of school supplies… he hid something far too precious to lose in there. After all, he knew his mother wouldn’t inspect that box out of all of them, she was far too concerned with appearances.

It was a stupid keychain his first girlfriend had gotten him, a little panda hanging onto a bamboo stick that he’s kept around for as long as he could remember. His mother wanted him to leave behind any and all sentimental items but, he couldn’t part with this.

After stalling in his room for nearly 30 minutes, ‘tidying’ up his desk and what items he already had in his possession, he braced himself to go back out. 

Taking a deep breath, Akaashi set his hand on his door handle, the cold metal quickly warming from his sweaty palms. It felt like an hour with how slow he was turning the handle, his hands trembling and seeming to vibrate. His shallow breaths filled the room with obnoxious noise, the door creaking open and causing him to wince, immediately retracting his hand in regret. 

The YouTube video in the living room paused.

His breath caught in his throat, his body stiffening as he took the smallest step back into the comfort of his rather barren room. Waiting… that was all he could do at the moment. He never thought such an innocuous situation would be as frightening as that of a horror film. 

_ One. _

_ Two. _

_ Three. _

_ Click! “--and once you finish combining…” _

He released his breath. Sweat dripped down the side of his head, breaking him out of his stupor as he soon realized how worked up he had gotten. The normally cool and collected Akaashi Keiji, brought to near  _ tears _ at just the thought of running into his apparent  _ soulmate _ ? Ridiculous. Get a grip.

With a renowned motivation, he calmly opened the door, cursing the creaking with a slight snarl as he padded down the hallway once more. But this time, at a much slower pace that allowed him to take in what his cheap apartment was made of.

It wasn’t a horrible shade painted on, just rusted and, well, dirty. The beige no longer whispered coffee mornings and late nights, only frantic running and screeching of binders rubbing against the wall. There was an odd stain, purple? or maybe it was black, that made out the shape of a large blanket to the left of him - right next to Kuroo’s room.

He immediately jolted away, focusing on turning the corner behind the couch to just go right out the door. He could do that, he could make it outside without any accusation or interrogation pointed his way, and he would do it while remaining calm. As he always had.

In his hurry to come back, he had forgotten to properly close the door behind him. He cursed himself for this flimsy mistake - what if someone had gotten in and robbed their kitchen while he was unpacking? Then what could he do, the tension would only rise and the distrust and malice, the animosity, would only get worse by the passing second.

He pushed the door open, expecting to see his boxes, but instead he was greeted with a few tumbled leaves and the dirtied welcome mat.

“I brought them in.”

His breath hitched in his throat again, his eyes widening just the slightest bit as he gulped silently. Akaashi backed into the room, not turning around as he closed the door (properly, this time) and locked it. 

“Not even a ‘thank you’? That seems low, even for a guy who ditches his soulmate,” Kuroo snarked out, the jab causing Akaashi to flinch. He expected this, the hate and resentment, and he didn’t blame Kuroo in the slightest for it. He deserved it. For all those years of the annoying movement in the corner of his eye, for that lackluster build up and run in, for the cold shoulder he gave him from running away.

“We’re roommates now, the least you could do is tell me your name so I don’t have to call you something you aren’t.”

The last point hurt more than it should’ve, Akaashi admits. But he was a heterosexual, so it wouldn’t have worked out between them anyway. He was straight. Kuroo seemed not to be. And he respected that, for him at least. Akaashi would never be caught with a man, his mother would have his head for that before he even got the chance to say “boyfriend.”

“...Akaashi Keiji,” he finally introduced. It’s just a step forward from being strangers with animosity, he reasoned, it’s not like I’m asking him to fuck me in the next hour.

“Now I’m not doubting your intelligence but, just in case you forgot, names Kuroo Tetsurou,” he reintroduced, “And, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like talking to someone's back.”

Akaashi sucked in a silent breath, his hands becoming clammy as he stiffly turned around. He kept his gaze on the ground, refusing to even look in Kuroo’s general vicinity as he fidgeted with his hands, tugging and cringing at the sweat.

“I’m not gonna bite ya,” Kuroo snarked out, the sound of the couch cushions moving soon following after.

Akaashi let his eyes trail up - slow and steady - taking in his surroundings that he never bothered to do at first. He had become well accustomed to the floor, a dark hardwood that was neatly polished and cleaned. The couch was white, no design whatsoever, with black pegs holding it up. Kuroo’s lanky arms were draped across the back, causing Akaashi to immediately dart his gaze back down.

He fidgeted, too uncomfortable to move but too afraid of bringing back the animosity to break the silence. In a way, it was as if he was dealing with Bokuto again. Each decision he made would impact the overall atmosphere that surrounded him and his teammates; if he said the wrong thing, then the distance would grow and hostility would brew in silence. If he made the right decision, perhaps they would be able to move forward and grow a bond - but this would only end badly for Akaashi.

He didn’t want to lead Kuroo on.

There was a middle ground that he could settle for. A comfortable silence the both of them could fit into - just sitting on the couch, building the kind of bond Akaashi had with Konoha; he hated his guts but would still help him in a heartbeat. Well, that may have been an exaggeration but, Akaashi held his loyalties strongly.

He shuffled his way to the couch, the sound of the floorboards creaking under his weight making him cringe. He could just feel Kuroo’s eyes on him as he walked around the couch, taking the other end. The squeaking of the couch as he attempted to slowly ease into it caused his anxiety to spike; he just knew that Kuroo had to be watching his every move now.

_ Click. _

_ “Good enough for me!” _

His eyes immediately darted up and forward to the small TV stacked on several textbooks on the wooden coffee table. The screen unpaused, a familiar game playing, the voices of several people filling the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Akaashi swore he could see Kuroo smile.

✰

“I’m not letting you evade this topic anymore.”

It had been a month since Akaashi properly adjusted to his dorm life, and he thought he and Kuroo were on at least amicable terms. They watched YouTube videos before bed, vibing on the couch together while snacking on whatever leftovers they had from the day before.

On Tuesdays, they shared a business course. Akaashi had made the dumb decision in choosing an 8 am class that lasted roughly three hours. Kuroo had been smart, choosing the 4 pm class instead. With this break in between, Akaashi would leave his notes behind for Kuroo to briefly study before class would start.

On Thursdays, neither of them had morning class. Akaashi was always an early bird, waking up before the clock struck eight and making a decent breakfast (decent being twelve eggs and, if he had money, he would stop by the seven-eleven to purchase some rice balls.), saving enough for Kuroo. By the time Akaashi would finish his coffee, Kuroo would drag his long ass fucking legs out, only wearing a pair of pants and one (1) shoe before immediately retreating once the cold, hardwood halls bit at his solo foot.

Saturdays were the days that neither of them stayed in their dorms. Kuroo would leave by 5 am to go to his part time job, having his shift till 11 am. While he was gone, Akaashi wouldn’t wake until his usual time, and instead of making his own breakfast, he would immediately head out to a cafe near the law school. There, he would study until 10 am, immediately meeting up with Bokuto and his boyfriend, Sawamura Daichi. Akaashi wasn’t sure what Kuroo did after his shift, but he didn’t bother to ask. After all, they were just roommates who happened to be soulmates.

Nothing more, nothing less.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Kuroo.” Akaashi didn’t even glance in his direction, slurping up the cold soba he had picked up while on his way home from a late class. He was tired, irritated, hungry, and sweaty. All he wanted was to sit here, eat, and sleep. 

Kuroo paused the YouTube video, a video they had been rewatching over and over again for the last three nights. 

“Keiji, we’re soulmates.”

“And what of it?” he shot back, finally glancing over as he set his soba down on the coffee table. 

“You can’t sit here,  _ live _ with me, and say you don’t feel something for me,” Kuroo shifted, turning to directly face Akaashi. His sandwich was on the table, the paper wrapping starting to darken from the oil seeping through while the sticker remained attached in pristine condition.

“I don’t have romantic feelings for you, if that’s what you’re suggesting.” Akaashi stated coldly, reaching to resume eating. He had assumed the conversation ended, he had offered his clear sentiment of the situation and there was nothing left to speak about.

“Are you actually this stupid?” Kuroo sighed out exasperatedly, one hand tugging at his own hair while the other was raised as if to say ‘what the fuck.’ 

Akaashi narrowed his eyes at that, “If you have something to say, spit it out already.”

“To think --  _ I fucking love you, you dumb owl! _ ” He seemed to stand slightly, both hands tugging at his own hair as he let out an exasperated groan, “Are you actually this dense?! There’s no way!”

For a moment, the chirping of crickets was the loudest sound in the room. In the back of Kuroo’s mind, he worried about a noise complaint over his outburst before quickly dismissing that thought. If his soulmate really didn’t feel the same for him, he wasn’t sure how he would handle that. He may have matured, but when it comes to anything dealing with romance, he was a newborn. He knew he should handle this like an adult - for fucks sake, he was one! - but, the urge to make Akaashi feel his pain if this was unrequited was growing each second the silence passed by. His chest started to hurt from how hard his heart was beating, the blood pumping through his veins filling his ears as he hesitated to even gulp. They were  _ soulmates _ ! He was following a blind faith, a child's story in his delusional hope. 

He wouldn’t force Akaashi to love him.

That was the one thing he vowed he would stay true to if he truly didn’t reciprocate his feelings. 

“Kuroo, I’m straight.”

✰

“Konoha Yakitori?”

_ “Akinori! You really are a dumb gay,” a playful sigh escaped him, a chuckle soon following after. _

“Close enough! And I’m not dumb!” Kuroo laughed, leaning back in his chair.

_ “Whatever you say. Anyways, you need  _ love _ advice?”  _ Kuroo could practically  _ feel _ his eyebrows wiggling and squirming through the phone.

He let out a deep sigh, “Yeah, Bokuto told me you’re pretty close to Akaashi?”

_ “I’d say so yeah, he’s still got his secrets but, I know most of them.” _

“Perfect, I’m not trying to destroy him or anything, I just want to befriend him at this point.”

_ “You’re his soulmate, aren’t you?” Man he was quick, Kuroo mentally complimented.  _

“How’d you guess?” 

_ “He’s not that hard to befriend, especially since you’re probably an extrovert. It’s pretty easy, he’s a simple guy I swear.” _

“He won’t look me in the eye, he refuses to be in the same room as me, he won’t even  _ talk _ to me half the time --”

_ “Woah, what’d you do? I’ve never seen him act like this to anyone.” _

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” Kuroo ran a hand through his hair, starting to pace back and forth in his room. He mentally apologized to those on the floor below, but frankly, he gave less than two shits at the moment. “We had a talk about being soulmates and - I’m trusting you with this because Bo trusts you - I’m gay clearly and I assumed with how Akaashi acted with me he was at least _ somewhat gay  _ too! But y’know what he said? ‘I’m straight!’”

_ Konoha burst out laughing at that, causing Kuroo to pause in his tracks. “Kuroo, I swear on every hair on my head, Akaashi does not have a straight bone in his body. The only thing I could chalk it up to is some kind of upbringing, y'know? He’s always been more of a model kid, never raises his voice to teachers or anything, so if you can get him to sit down, I say ask him about it. It’s not my place to talk about, hope you understand.” _

“Yeah I get that but, how do you suggest, oh wise one, that I even get him to hear me out? The second I even pry into any subject, he’s gone!”

_ “It’s kind of a douchey move but, we could try this because I know it’ll work.” Kuroo could hear some kind of rustling in the background. “Hear me out, I’ll call him and say I’m bringing a friend to the Fukurodani practice game. Connect the dots - you’re the friend,” he let out a cheeky laugh, “I’m so clever - and then after you show up, there’ll be an intermission between games. We’ll do the classic ‘stuck in a storage closet’ kinda thing, forcing the two of you to talk!” _

“...This is such a bad idea.”

“Let’s do it.”

✰ 

It was a bad idea. It was beyond horrible, really. In the back of Kuroo’s mind, he chided himself for not being a man and just straight up asking him. They lived together, it shouldn’t be  _ that _ hard to get him alone! It’s not like he had someone over every other day or that their schedule clashed that badly.

But then he reminded himself.

He did try. He stood in front of his door for more minutes than he should’ve, hovering over the handle, grumbling and mumbling for the longest time before slumping in defeat and retreating to his room. 

He put in more effort in trying to get his fucking soulmate to talk to him than he did in his chemistry test. He was meant to be the one for him, by some ludicrous system that bound him. He was gay, a homosexual male, attracted a  _ supposedly _ straight, hetersexual male. 

He didn’t fucking buy it. 

Even now, as he stood in a cramped closet filled with musty supplies. The pungent scent of bleach burned his nose, his eyes watering slightly - but he couldn’t focus on that. Not when Akaashi Keiji, pretty boy central, was so close to him that he could see the tiny indents on his cheeks. The small lines in his eyes that contrasted with the sharp, metallic gray. The way his lips were slightly chapped, but  _ oh so _ kissable and soft and - ah, he was staring. 

With how close they were, Kuroo didn’t doubt for a second that Akaashi could hear the rapid beats of his heart. They shook his ribcage with each beat, the trembling in his hands seeming to grow more and more intense.

He could faintly hear the jiggling of the door knob, the slight vibrations only melding in with the own tremors of his body.

“Door’s locked tight…” He could hear Akaashi murmur, his face right next to his, his mouth just below his ear before moving back. A space formed between the two of them. Was there really any space between them?

Kuroo could still feel Akaashi’s thigh brushing against his own, his shirt brushing against his arm in an attempt to create room. His eyes zeroed in on his shirt, loosely clinging to his chest. It was such a plain shirt, but Akaashi made it look as though he purchased it from Gucci. 

“Kuroo, do you have your phone on you?” Akaashi’s voice cut through the heavy air. Kuroo finally registered the rustling of close as Akaashi rummaged through his pockets - well, tried to, before realizing he didn’t have any on his trendy pants.

Kuroo patted down the sides of his pants, shaking a can of tic tacs but nothing else.

“...I left it with Yakitori--”

“ _ Akinori-- _ ”

“Yakinori!” Kuroo conceded to that compromise. 

Akaashi let out an annoyed huff, shuffling in the dim closet to try to lean on the back wall. Unfortunately for him, there was only a shelf. A rickety, old, rusted and creaky shelf filled precariously with cleaning supplies and a singular bucket on the top shelf. This left his only choice to lean forward, that is, unless he wanted to be subjected to the torturous vinegar and bleach concoction beginning to form behind him.

Kuroo cleared his throat.

It wasn’t on purpose, there was really something just clogging his throat. But the way Akaashi’s head snapped up, nearly decking him right in the chin in a split second, had his heart racing and adrenaline pumping. 

Were his eyes always this vibrant? Maybe they were, but they seemed like they were straight out of a movie. Bright, stunning, contrasting with the dim background as if they were edited professionally. Yet, at the same time, so soft and metallic. If someone had told Kuroo he was looking at a professionally shot photo at this very moment, he’d believe them in a heartbeat.

He could already imagine it - the background would be blurred out just enough that it would be impossible to tell that he was in a closet. The clear outline of his own figure illuminating himself, as if Akaashi was glowing under the barely functioning single light bulb. A simple outfit, a navy blue t-shirt and slapped on dark pants, a silver bracelet hanging off his wrist. 

Oh, his wrist was slightly raised now, as if he was grabbing something behind the camera that Kuroo couldn’t see. That was unfortunate, but it made for quite the perspective shot. Maybe he was simply holding his hand out into the air, or maybe --

“Is the bleach getting to your head, Kuroo? I’ve been talking for the past ten minutes,”

“Akaashi—“ Kuroo started, his voice slightly strained as he fumbled a bit to stand upright, “No—  _ Keiji _ .”

“H-Hey we’re not—“

“That close? We’re  _ soulmates _ , Keiji. The universe put us together for a reason, and I’m tellin’ you the universe said gay rights for me and it’s sayin’ it for you too.”

He was silent, his eyes downcast and oh those beautiful gray eyes were hidden by such a dark shadow. He couldn’t read  _ Keiji _ like this - not when his expressions were so dim and the window to his soul was closed off.

“I’m not…” He started, his voice quivering slightly as his fists furled and unfurled tensely. There was absolutely no way he was - his mother would surely disown him and his reputation he worked so hard to build in his family would  _ crumble _ with one declaration. He wouldn’t — no, he  _ won’t _ risk it. Soulmate be damned, he’d find a wife.

“Can you confidently look me in the eyes and say that?”

Why did his eyes look so  _ distraught _ ? The shine seemed so strained now, the once vibrant metallic gray dulling to a rusted steel - as if a layer of black was hovering over it. For a moment, they stared directly into Kuroo’s soul, nitpicking and just  _ looking _ . Then, they fluttered away, looking at the door behind him as they unfocused. It wasn’t difficult to tell with how close they were to each other.

“I’m not gay.” He stated firmly, biting his lip immediately after as he lifted his gaze once more. His left hand was gripping the hem of his shirt tightly, as if biting back a cry of pain from a scornful attack.

“You weren’t looking me in the eyes.”

“I was—“

“You weren’t.” Kuroo exhaled slowly, the revelation slowly dawning over him as he fought to keep down the eager grin that threatened to escape. “Keiji— are you scared?”

“...Scared? What would I—“

“Society! Maybe your parents or friends or professors have been feeding you some random shit but — you don't have to be scared!” Kuroo was practically glowing - he wasn’t straight and he wasn’t intentionally homophobic! 

The brief astonishment that passed by Akaashi’s gaze was all Kuroo needed to know that he hit the nail on the head.

“You stupid, stupid gay— time’s are changing, the world’s evolving and you don’t have to suppress these kinds of emotions - I promise you.” 

“But… but it’s— it’s not—“

“Natural? Normal? Is that what people have been feeding you? You’re so stupid for belieiving them,” he let out an airy laugh, “I’ll show you everything you need to know later, but right now…”

He wiped the forming tears from the corner of his eyes, “For the love of god, kiss me already.”

Who was Akaashi to deny him?

✰ 

He pulled away from the closet door with a proud grin.

“Imagine being a dumb gay like Kuroo and Akaashi, right Akinori?”

“Koutarou… we’re dumb gays.”


End file.
